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Trip Through the Robot
When Dr. Smith accidentally blows out a power relay, the Jupiter 2 is left with insufficient energy to meet its needs. One consequence is that the Robot cannot be recharged; Will is particularly upset because, when the Robot’s power reserves are completely used up, it will cease to function—effectively, the Robot will die. In an attempt to save Will and the other Robinsons from further pain, the Robot records a message to them before leaving camp to go off and die. He travels as far as he can before his energy is so low that he collapses in the Valley of Shadows. When Will discovers that the Robot has left, he sets out with Dr. Smith to find him. They track him down, only to find he has grown to enormous proportions because of radioactive gas found in the area. Undaunted, Will and Dr. Smith set about repairing the Robot by actually climbing inside and making repairs that way. With the Robot’s voice to guide them, they avoid his self-defense mechanisms and arrive at the source of the Robot’s malfunction. By that point, the Robot’s power is almost exhausted, but Will does everything in his power to save him, despite Dr. Smith’s repeated demands to return outside. At one point Will even manages to revive the Robot when his diode timer, his heart, ceases to function. The next morning, John and Don are searching for the missing members of their party. When they find the gigantic Robot with an access panel on his base open, they deduce Will’s plan and decide to go inside to find the boy and Dr. Smith. Meanwhile, Will discovers how to return the Robot to his original size and he begins to shrink quickly. Smith, Will, John and Don are almost trapped as the Robot grows smaller and smaller. All escape in time, though, except for Will. John is frantic with worry and he and Don attempt to keep the Robot’s access hatch open with a log to allow Will to make it out. At the last moment, with barely enough room to spare, Will appears near the hatch and they drag him out. After their close call, and happy to have the Robot back, the Robinsons recharge him fully. Background Information *Many props from other episodes are used to represent the Robot's internal workings. Most noticeable is the Purification Arch prop from The Colonists. In this respect the episode could be what is called in the TV industry a "bottle show" - a script that can be filmed cheaply as it uses existing props, sets, special effects, and a minimum cast. Bottle shows are typically kept in reserve in case a committed script becomes un-doable and something is needed at the last minute or in order to bring production costs back under control. *Knowing how completely inept Smith is, why did John trust him (yet again) with an important job? *We see Smith eating an apple and a banana. However, in the episode “Wish Upon a Star,” it is clearly stated that apples are rare items that the Robinsons do not have. And if they can’t get apples, it’s very doubtful they could get bananas either.... Also, where do they get the eggs for all their breakfasts? *Prior to Penny playing the tape of the Robot's farewell message to the Robinsons we saw him roll off away from the ship. How and when did the Robot manage to record the tape after that in such a way that Penny would find it on the Jupiter 2? *When the Robot first mentioned his power problem to Will and Dr. Smith he acted as if he was about to run out of power that very moment. Where did he get all the power to move so far away from the Jupiter for hours? *"The Valley of Shadows" - is that a biblical reference to the valley of the shadow of death in Psalm 23? *When Will finds the Robot, he tells Robot that John “changed his mind” and is willing to give Robot the power he needs to survive. But the next morning at the Jupiter 2, John himself states that he has remained steadfast and has NOT changed his mind. Perhaps Will lied in order to persuade the Robot to allow him to work on him. *Why will the Robot "die" if he isn't recharged? The Robot has been powered down many times before, and in several cases, completely disassembled. Why did he not die then? *The Robot has been turned completely off, and later, turned back on again many times. Why didn't the Robinson's just turn the Robot off, then turn him back on again after they were back up to full power? *The Robot is lying horizontally on his back so all the instrumentation inside him should be horizontal as well, and yet it is vertical. *Will says if the Robot's diode timer isn't kept running it will freeze in one position, making it impossible to ever start it again; and yet when Will says this the diode timer has already stopped running. *Memorable line - Dr. Smith (sardonically): "It appears that you cannot keep a good robot down." *When the Robot begins to "shrink," he shrinks horizontally with the walls closing in, but does not shrink vertically with all the instrumentation getting smaller. *Will calls out "Dad!" but how does he know his father is inside the Robot? *The external hatch shrank but not the Robot's tread section. *If they could use the chariot's power to recharge the Robot why didn't they just do that from the beginning? Gallery LIS-1.jpg Diode Timer.jpg Transisteroids.jpg download (21).jpg Lost-in-Space-Trip-Through-the-Robot-3.jpg 34012839_10216218047341008_6733813468001992704_n.jpg 29594482_10215751497077543_4390626122458207315_n.jpg 45576447_1080562472123512_1232821541423546368_n.jpg|More fantastic episode artwork from Mr Juan Ortiz - Category:Episodes Category:Lost in Space (1965 TV Series) Category:LiS Season Two Episodes